Conor McGregor Wants The Nate Diaz Fight But May Fight Interim Title Winner Amid Diaz’s Huge Demands
Conor McGregor recently spoke about his fighting future at a Glasgow event. With rumors surrounding a Nate Diaz fight at UFC 219, McGregor made it clear who he wants to fight next in the highly anticipated rubber match. Coming off a big payday with the Floyd Mayweather bout, the UFC lightweight champion made it clear that he wants to legitimize the title rather than chase another money fight.
“Look, I’ve got the UFC title to defend and that means something to me. I will defend that world title,” McGregor stated during the live interview with Caroline Pearce at An Evening with Conor McGregor in Glasgow via MMA Fighting.
Conor McGregor also spoke about his rival Nate Diaz in the Glasgow event and expressed interest in the fight, which he has done repeatedly in the last few months. However, he stated that he may fight the winner of Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee at UFC 219 and criticized Nate Diaz’s huge demands.
The 29-year old stated that Nate may begin “pricing himself out of an event” amid rumors that the Stockton native wants at least $20 million for the trilogy fight. While Nate Diaz is a shrewd negotiator, the $20 million figure is what his boxing coach Richard Perez thought he deserved rather than an actual demand from Diaz.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani stated that the UFC is currently negotiating the terms of the fight but the December 30 event is not yet finalized. Conor McGregor revealed that he will be watching the Ferguson vs. Lee fight at UFC 216 before making any decisions.
McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh will like to see Conor and Nate fight next year on St Patrick’s Day, March 17, in New York. However, he admits that he has no influence on the scheduling of the potential fight.
Conor also criticized Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is currently the UFC lightweight No.1 contender. McGregor is interested in fighting him in Russia but is unsure whether he will show up on fight night due to his history of pulling out of fights.
Matchmaker Sean Shelby revealed that he offered Khabib the Tony Ferguson fight at UFC 217 in November but the undefeated fighter couldn’t fight until December, thus the opportunity was granted to rising star Kevin Lee.
Nate Diaz hasn’t fought since his fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 202 last year, which he lost by majority decision.
Diaz said that he will be taking 2017 off to focus on a triathlon but a fight with Conor McGregor at the end of the year is still a possibility.
[Featured Image by David Becker/Getty Images]
